“I was lucky in my career, being able to be a part of what you might say were three key stages of the company,” he says.
“I was literally interviewed by our founder, Bob Ratliff. Martin (Richenhagen) pulled all the brands together, installed professional systems and processes and made significant investments into Fendt, while currently, Eric (Hansotia) is leading the company to a different level in terms of technology investments and a farmer first focus on solving customer problems.”
Agco is barely more than 30 years old, a comparative youngster in the industry, and Crain was integral in many of the early key decisions that saw it evolve from a fresh collection of different brand names to a focused agriculture equipment firm.
Among those brands acquired early on was Allis-Chalmers. When the Agco-Allis brand, seen by many as an extension of Allis-Chalmers, was officially discontinued, there were a lot of upset farmers.
However, Crain said making the decision to discontinue it and other brands was necessary.
“Going back in Agco’s history, when you’re dealing with as many brands as we once had, you’ve got to pick what you’re going to play with, because of the investment and the significant resources required. I helped make that call, picking the vital few products from a North American perspective. We couldn’t be everything to everybody. It’s impossible. Let’s pick those critical few and focus on them.”
Narrowing down the product line helped the company move forward in a number of ways, he adds, but it wasn’t without its difficulties.
“Like the distribution network, brands will be some of my biggest memories, the good, the bad and the ugly. And I’ve got scars to show for all of it. Those were tough, tough calls to make. You can argue right or wrong all day, but at some point you have to make a decision and drive a stake in the ground to enable long-term success. I think we made the right calls.”
Improving the company’s ability to support owners of both new and older equipment followed as one of his initial objectives.
Pour lire l'article complet: Looking back on a career in machinery manufacturing | The Western Producer
